BVA9504537
DOCKET NO. 93-13 589 ) DATE
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On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Atlanta,
Georgia
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Georgia Department of Veterans
Service
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
N. W. Fabian, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active service from September 1941 to August 1945
and was a prisoner of war from July 1943 to April 1945.
CONTENTION OF APPELLANT ON APPEAL
The veteran contends that the conditions that he suffered through
as a prisoner of war caused his diabetes mellitus.
DECISION OF THE BOARD
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), in accordance with the
provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104 (West 1991), has reviewed and
considered all of the evidence and material of record in the
veteran's claims file. Based on its review of the relevant
evidence in this matter, and for the following reasons and bases,
it is the decision of the Board that the veteran's claim for
service connection for diabetes mellitus is not well grounded.
FINDING OF FACT
There is no competent medical evidence showing that the veteran's
diabetes mellitus is related to service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus is not
well grounded. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) (West 1991).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The threshold question that must be resolved with regard to the
claim is whether the veteran has presented evidence that the
claim is well grounded. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) (West 1991);
Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 78, 81 (1990). A well-grounded
claim is a plausible claim, meaning a claim that appears to be
meritorious. Murphy, 1 Vet.App. at 81. An allegation that a
disorder is service connected is not sufficient; the veteran must
submit evidence in support of the claim that would "justify a
belief by a fair and impartial individual that the claim is
plausible." 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a); Tirpak v. Derwinski,
2 Vet.App. 609, 611 (1992). Where the issue on appeal involves
medical causation or a medical diagnosis, in order to establish a
well-grounded claim the veteran must submit competent medical
evidence showing that the claim is plausible. Grottveit v.
Brown, 5 Vet.App. 91, 93 (1993). Lay statements regarding
medical diagnosis or causation cannot constitute evidence to make
a claim well grounded under 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) because a
layperson is not competent to make a medical diagnosis or to
relate a medical disorder to a specific cause. Espiritu v.
Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 492, 494 (1992).
If the veteran fails to submit evidence in support of a plausible
claim, the VA is under no duty to assist the veteran in any
further development of the claim. Grottveit v. Brown, 5 Vet.App.
at 93. Furthermore, a claim that is not well grounded must be
dismissed because it does not present a question of fact or law
over which the Board has jurisdiction. Boeck v. Brown,
6 Vet.App. 14, 17 (1993).
Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from
disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service.
38 U.S.C.A. § 1110. Service connection may also be granted for
any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence,
including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease
was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d) (1994). Where a
veteran served for
90 days in active service, and diabetes mellitus develops to a
degree of 10 percent or more within one year from the date of
separation from service, such disease may be service connected
even though there is no evidence of such disease in service.
38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101, 1112; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309.
The veteran contends that the conditions that he suffered as a
prisoner of war caused him to have diabetes mellitus. It is
noteworthy at this point that diabetes mellitus is not listed in
the controlling regulations as a disease specific as to former
prisoners of war. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(c). Accordingly,
presumptive service connection for diabetes mellitus on that
basis is not warranted. It falls on the veteran to present the
requisite nexus between diabetes mellitus and his military
service. He has submitted private medical evidence that shows
diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in May 1992. Prior to January
1988, numerous physical examinations and diagnostic tests that
the veteran received, including his service medical records and
separation examination, were negative for any clinical finding or
diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The report of a VA examination
conducted in January 1988 shows an abnormally high glucose level
in his serum specimen, but no diagnosis was made based on the
high glucose level.
The medical evidence submitted by the veteran does not show a
causative relationship between his diabetes mellitus and any
disease or injury that occurred while he was in active service.
Although the veteran claims that his diabetes mellitus was caused
by the hardships that he suffered as a prisoner of war, he is not
competent to relate a medical disorder to a specific cause.
Because no competent medical evidence has been submitted that
establishes a causative relationship between diabetes mellitus
and a disease or injury that occurred during the veteran's period
of active service, his claim is not plausible and is, therefore,
not well grounded. Accordingly, the veteran's claim for service
connection for diabetes mellitus must be dismissed due to the
Board's lack of jurisdiction.
ORDER
The claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus is
dismissed.
GEORGE R. SENYK
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
(CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination. This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.
NOTICE OF APPELLATE RIGHTS: Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7266 (West
1991), a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals granting less
than the complete benefit, or benefits, sought on appeal is
appealable to the United States Court of Veterans Appeals within
120 days from the date of mailing of notice of the decision,
provided that a Notice of Disagreement concerning an issue which
was before the Board was filed with the agency of original
jurisdiction on or after November 18, 1988. Veterans' Judicial
Review Act, Pub. L. No. 100-687, § 402 (1988). The date which
appears on the face of this decision constitutes the date of
mailing and the copy of this decision which you have received is
your notice of the action taken on your appeal by the Board of
Veterans' Appeals.